


Permission Granted

by dramaticinsanity



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gem Fusion, Gem War, Gen, Pre-Series, Queerplatonic Lapidot, gem society, pearlidot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 22:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20713925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramaticinsanity/pseuds/dramaticinsanity
Summary: One does not simply take a short trip to Earth.





	Permission Granted

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely self indulgent Steven Universe prologue AU set during the gem war. I take liberties with the society - meaning I basically do what I want as much as it’s convenient. There’s… one tiny sly but blatant nod to the movie :’) 
> 
> Though this is Pearl/Peridot later on, most of the fic is Peridot centric and portraying her close friendship with Lapis as it is in this alternate universe. They have a deep, platonic relationship in this, and they rarely spend time apart. Though they really toe the line in this story, I do not ship them, but I’m not against it either.

[(Cover created by me.)](http://fav.me/ddgiwa0)

Peridot is hard at work fixing the light engine on a ship. It’s nothing special for a Peridot of her caliber, but it’s quite busy. Something taps her shoulder. She shrieks and bangs her head on the console above her. She glowers over her shoulder at Lapis Lazuli. Her mouth is in a thin line and eyes wide, the picture of false innocence.

“I know that was you,” Peridot deadpans.

“No idea what you mean,” Lapis squeaks.

“Zuli…”

Suddenly, the door opens. They both freeze at the sight of Yellow Pearl. 

“Esteemed Peridot and lustrous Lapis Lazuli,” Yellow Pearl greets them. “My Diamond has requested a meeting with Peridot Facet-25FL Cut-5XG.”

Peridot replies shakily, “Y-yellow Diamond wants to meet with me? I mean, yes, I am that Peridot and I will eagerly attend to my Diamond.”

“Post Haste.” Yellow Pearl bows and the door shuts. She’ll probably wait for them outside.

Peridot grabs Lapis and shakes her by the shoulders. “Yellow Diamond! My Diamond has specifically requested _me, I can’t believe it._Maybe I’ll finally get to visit a new colony…”

Gems aren’t supposed to look toward the future and have dreams this way. They’re supposed to do their job and do as their told. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to get away from her manager, a horrid Hessonite that nearly shattered her for a small mistake.

If it hadn’t been for Lapis… she’d rather not think about it. They’ve stuck close to each other’s side ever since. One is rarely seen without the other. This does pose a slight problem, though.

Peridot salutes Yellow Diamond upon arriving, attempting to hide her nervousness. Lapis has a bored expression beside her. Peridot knows that internally, she’s freaking. She’s always terrified that the Diamonds will see how she’s flawed and shatter her.

“Peridot at your service,” she says, “Facet-25Fl Cut-5XG, your illuminous wonder.”

“Ah yes, you are known as the brightest of your peers, is that correct?” That sounds rhetorical, so Peridot is silent. Yellow Diamond narrows her eyes. “Despite being overcooked due to slim period of resources, but you have made do. I did not request this Lapis Lazuli.”

“My sincerest apologies that you were not informed,” Peridot responds, fighting to keep her voice even. “This Lapis Lazuli is my… bodyguard part assistant. I rarely go anywhere without her.”

Yellow Diamond stares her down. “That is unusual, but not unheard of for gems of different types and classes to form such a bond. As long as it does not interfere with your work, I shall permit it.”

“W-what is it I am needed for, My Diamond?”

“I want you to go to Earth. The Beta and Zeta Kindergartens are struggling, and I’m certain you’ve heard of the rebellion by now. It’s a minor nuisance, but they are causing technical interference. Your expertise is needed in this area.”

“Earth,” Peridot repeats, feeling it on her tongue. “That’s Pink Diamond’s colony, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Yellow Diamond pinches the bridge of her nose. In a moment of stunning openness she mutters, “Figures the one time we have a rebellion this loud and it’s her colony. Couldn’t this have been simple…”

Yellow Pearl addresses Peridot, “Please ignore my Diamond’s comment, as far as you know Pink Diamond is a competent leader and the colony is running smoothly.”

Lazuli’s eye twitches. Peridot inclines her head to indicate she understands. 

Soon, the Galaxy Warp takes them to Earth. It’s utterly surrounded by huge guards. It makes sense, considering they wouldn’t want to the rebels spilling onto Homeworld. Even if it is a _minor inconvenience. _

Lapis snorts and says, “I can’t believe a bunch of silly rebels are getting in Yellow Diamond’s hair. They’re insane! What chance do they think they have against the Diamonds? If White Diamond so much as lifts a finger…”

Lapis shudders. 

“Let’s just get this job done,” Peridot says. “The sooner we’re off this danger infested planet, the better. We don’t need to get caught up in this mess.”

Though both are capable of defending themselves, but when push comes to shove they aren’t soldiers. They aren’t elite warriors purposed for battle. The first sign of trouble, they’re flying out of there as fast as possible.

“This is place is in absolute shambles,” Peridot laments the moment she lays eyes on the Beta Kindergarten. She clicks her tongue in disappointment. “It’s an obvious rush job! These holes are crooked! Ugh! I can only see one passable cut in the whole lot, and it’s… wow, it’s perfect. That doesn’t make up for the rest of this lot...”

She continues to complain as Lapis silently trails behind her. The finer points of science and technology are mostly lost on Lapis. It’s still a mystery to Peridot why Lapis sticks around. Peridot does what she can. Some of the injectors require maintenance, but it’s not going to offer much overall improvement. However, it gets worse.

“This is an embarrassment,” Peridot mutters when they warp to the Zeta. “There’s only a handful of injectors at the most, it hasn’t been properly terraformed, and I can tell you most of the gems that have emerged probably didn’t last a week.”

A few guards mill about, some shooting confused looks at the strange duo.

Suddenly, Peridot’s sensor goes crazy. “Zuli!”

Lapis reacts immediately, bringing up a wall of water to cover them. A ragtag group of gems swoop in, led by a Pearl and a kind of gem that Peridot has never seen before. She cowers behind Lapis. She has an energy cannon, but she doesn’t like her chances with over a dozen renegade merciless clods. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Lapis says. She spreads her wings while Peridot activates her flight mode, and they take off.

Unfortunately, they’re knocked out of the sky by a pink disc. Peridot drops on top of Lapis. She scrambles to her feet and aims her energy cannon. Lapis groans and rubs her head. Only two of the gems approach them, the Pearl and the unknown gem. She’s tall and pink and doesn’t conform to Homeworld standards of form appearance in any way, and the cut of her gem confuses Peridot over everything she knows about Kindergartening.

The Pearl advances and sticks her sword in Peridot’s face.

_What in the stars above is a Pearl doing with a sword like this?!_ Who owns this Pearl?

Lapis leaps defensively in front of Peridot. A hand of water hovers over the two gems who look up at it in concern. Lapis raises her shoulders and wears a threatening grimace. 

“Don’t touch her.”

Peridot clears her throat. “Listen, I’m a technician. We were just passing through, taking notes and making adjustments. We’re not combat gems and we don’t want to fight. So please don’t hurt me!”

Hopefully these clods have some semblance of rationality. The Pearl’s eyes shift to her. Never has a mere _Pearl_ made Peridot so unnerved. The pink one isn’t particularly frightening in appearance when Peridot focuses on her, which makes it even more bizarre. She obviously has to be the one in charge, given she resembles a Quartz.

A weird Quartz.

The facet is all wrong! What is going on with this planet?

The Pearl lowers her sword slightly, and she gives a questioning look to the Quartz. In an instant, they’re jumping through the air and gone. Peridot did manage to get a scan of the Pearl. The Kindergarten is left silent as though nothing happened. It becomes apparent that the rebels defeated everyone else working here.

“This is not good,” Peridot mutters. “If Yellow Diamond finds out we did nothing to stop a rebel attack, she’ll have our gems.”

“She can’t possibly blame us for this,” Lapis says, but she doesn’t sound totally confident. “We’re not warriors. What were we supposed to do.”

“I certainly hope she sees it that way… she is the most reasonable and calculating of the Diamonds…”

They head back to the main Kindergarten. Peridot is still reeling from the attack. It was all so fast. That Pearl… Peridot can’t take her mind off that Pearl.

How can a Pearl be a rebel? They’re made to serve as long as their owner exists. 

Maybe the owner was shattered, and she somehow got free in the chaos?

Peridot shakes it off. Her next task is a few hours away, and with nothing to do but wait she decides to take some down time to get a look at the planet.

Lapis asks, “Where are we going?”

“No idea.” Peridot heads into the wild area beyond the Prime Kindergarten. She’s always been fascinated by organic properties, though she would never mention that to anyone out loud.

It’s purely scientific.

They stumble upon a horrific scene. A drill had run wild somehow, sometime earlier. It’s still smoking, and the damage left is fresh.

“Who is responsible for this catastrophe?”

Examining the scene closer reveals shattered gems and dead organics, their revolting pieces and life juices are spread everywhere. Peridot grimaces. Lapis looks unimpressed that this was allowed to happen.

They hear a barely audible whimper and wonder toward the noise. It’s some kind of organic, furry and gray with a long snout. It’s trapped under a piece of drill. Scanning the scene reveals the organics life function are at critical, and it has been damaged beyond repair.

Peridot fires up her cannon and shoots it. The creature dies upon impact. 

“Peridot why did you do that?!” Lapis kneels over the organic.

“It was dying anyway. I simply put the poor freakish thing out of its misery.”

Peridot uses her technology to clean up as much as she can. The shattered gemstones are useless and might as well be left. Lost gems are sometimes mourned, but who knows who these were. Peridot melts the organic pieces and burns away the blood stains. The drill she breaks down for parts and stores beneath the Kindergarten.

When they do one final sweep of the scene, they find something. It’s a smaller version of those organic lifeforms. Its brownish-red with bright green eyes. They seem to look at Peridot beseechingly. 

“Hnn… what do you want from me?”

The thing climbs out of the hole in the ground and curls between her feet.

“It’s so… so small! Like you without your limb enhancers…”

“I’m not that small!”

Lapis goes and imprints on the creature, talking to it and snuggling it.

“You are making me sick, Zuli.”

“Lighten up Peri! I’m going to keep it but I don’t know a name yet… maybe Carnelian? How about Sunstone? Ruby? Amber?”

“Ugh don’t give that miniature beast a gem name! There is no way they’re going to let you take that co-dependent, germ ridden ball of organic fibers to Homeworld, you know that, right?”

They walk for a while, exploring the area. A group of stone structures rises up in a valley. It’s immediately apparent someone has tried to flush them out. The town of organics is flooded, with them rushing to higher ground and calling out with distress.

Lapis asks, “Should we do something?”

“I - hnnanahh - the colonizing gems are probably responsible for this…”

Truthfully, it seems cruel. Why not just kill them and be done with it? They must not have thought it worth the effort to spare gems who could be fighting the rebels. Between Peridot’s technology and Lazuli’s water powers, it’s no sweat to clean up the disaster. Afterward organic bipeds surround them, expressions awed.

Peridot braces for a fight, but they bow to the pair of gems and start to chant. Peridot scans them and receives information from the database.

Peridot relays to Lapis, “They are called… hyoo-mahns… they are hyper-social pack animals that have been known to share symbiotic relationships with other animals - such as avians, canis lupus, felines, and equines. Though their intelligence is far below that of gem kind, they are self-aware civilized beings with a capacity to love and to hate, to build and make war. Their lifespans are roughly forty to sixty years depending on harvest seasons and illnesses.”

Lapis gazes over her shoulder. “Neat. They don’t live long do they? That’s the blink of an eye for a gem… maybe less.”

“Perhaps, but according to this they’re one of the longest lived creatures recorded from this planet.” A mere glance and Peridot can spot a number of creatures like the little fluff that Lapis is carrying. “Canis Lupus live only eight to fifteen years.”

One of the humans approaches. “You bring us wolf cub?”

Lapis recoils and covers the runt wolf with her hand. “Mine.”

It starts to whine. Lapis glares down at it. “What?”

The human presents a flask. Peridot returns to her screen, discovering that humans are separated into categories - male, female, other, baby, juvenile, and adult. They change? Peridot investigates further. 

Lapis tenderly takes the flask. The human leaves for a moment and returns with another cub and flask. The cub appears to consume the contents. Lapis copies her. The cub settles down and falls asleep.

“Weird,” Lapis says. 

“Ah! According to this, a lot of organic life consumes other organic life, or substances derived from organic life. They convert it into energy by -”

“Spare me the scientific spiel Peridot, I get it.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t want to know about mitosis either.”

A large human with a towering hat appears, the crowd parting around him. He bows and says, “Would the Goddesses grace us with their presence a while longer? We will dine you.”

“Okay,” Lapis responds before Peridot can. Peridot sighs, but she follows Lapis as they are led to the city’s dining hall. 

Soon they are each presented with a pile of varied organic plant and animal products. Peridot and Lapis examine the stuff with skepticism. They allow the other humans to eat first, so that they can see how to complete the task.

“I’ll try it if you do,” Peridot says. “On three?”

After putting a bite of food into their mouths, they exchanged a shared look of surprise at the smooth melding of flavors. Could gems always _taste?_ They do have drinks at parties on Homeworld meant to put their light based forms in a state of relaxation; however, the beverages are dull with a thin, filmy texture.

They discover the humans have drinks of fruit and root that are divine as well. They are thick, sweet, sour, or bitter, and Peridot had no idea her tongue could process these things. The organic feast is overall delicious, with only a few offerings causing them to turn up their noses after trying. Swallowing is a sensation to which she’s unaccustomed, but it gets easier after a few more bites.

One of the smaller humans carries in a large item bigger than she is. She’s missing an eye, with a jagged scar over the area. Two taller ones help her set it in the middle of the table. It's roundish, orange and bumpy with a thick stem sticking from the top. Lapis leans forward and sniffs it. Peridot gives the Chief a questioning look.

“Goddess, may you carve the ceremonial pumpkin?”

Lapis tries out the foreign word, “Pump-kin.”

One hands Peridot what seems to be a miniature broad bladed sword. She puts it down and calculates on her screen the best way to accomplish this. First she uses a finger to cut a circle around the stem and removes that. Beams shoot through it and slice the pumpkin into exact parts, and a tractor beam wraps a sphere around the seeds inside and places them in a nearby basket.

Peridot gestures, “Ta-da.”

The humans cheer. Peridot smiles. They are easy. Peridot and Lapis are eventually offered the pumpkin in baked squares, larger portions than any of the humans receive. Lapis declines, though she does take a shine to the pumpkin seeds, nibbling on them with a look of contentment. Peridot cuts her square in half and gives it to the little one-eyed girl. 

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Ayashe! What are you called? They say you’re a spirit, but of what?”

“I’m Peridot the Goddess of er… knowledge! Lapis Lazuli here should be obvious, it’s water and nature to some extent.”

“Also reflection,” Lapis adds. “Literally and figuratively.”

“I hope you can help us know stuff.” Ayashe takes the treat and skips away. 

To her surprise, the humans copy her action, passing on their squares as they get them to the next person over until everyone has one. The wolf cub yaps at their feet. Lapis occasionally plucks some scraps from the meals that humans didn’t seem to want and tosses them to her. Lapis whispers to Peridot, “I’m calling her Pumpkin, and you can’t stop me.”

Peridot smiles. _Pumpkin_. Somehow it suits her. Peridot stares into the cub’s emerald eyes and internally concedes that she wouldn’t mind having the creature around. 

A short time after everyone finishes eating, music is played. Humans dance and sing. Lapis shrugs and joins in with them. Peridot enjoys her beautiful voice. 

“It all became so lovely… the bluest skies above me…”

Lapis continues to beckon Peridot until she joins in. She dances with Lapis, singing her own tune to the music. “Life and death and love and birth and… peace and war on the planet Earth. Is there anything that’s worth more than peace and love … on the planet Earth?”

Lapis encourages, “That’s the spirit Peri.”

They copy the humans in their free-spirited fueled movements instead of the uniform ways of Homeworld. It’s all exhilarating. Ayashe climbs on Peridot and makes an inquiry if she can paint her face. Peridot allows this, stunned to receive accurate constellations plastered on her cheeks, which Lapis shows her by making a reflective disc. 

“Did you know many of the stars you see in the night sky already have burnt out?”

“I did not! Thank you for your wisdom, my Goddess.”

Peridot grins and taps her nose. For a human, this one seems intelligent despite that she has not yet reached the full potential of her form. Lapis picks her up by the wrists and gives her a short flight above the city. Lapis has doomed herself, as a number of other kids - as well as some adolescents and adults - want a ride as well. 

A dreadful question weighs on Peridot.

Do they deserve to die? Couldn’t Homeworld find an unoccupied place for a colony? This planet has rich resources and so much potential. Already, schematics are forming in her mind of how they could co-exist with the life borne by the planet before they arrived.

Later, after Peridot and Lapis decide that passing the remains of the food out of their forms is a necessary evil, the humans show them how to sleep. Peridot experiences a strange dream where she makes a necklace of flowers for the rebel Pearl and dances with her in a sun-kissed field. Peridot’s green Hessonite manager appears from nowhere, threatening to shatter defenseless gems. The Pearl fights her while Peridot leads the other gems to safety.

Why the subconscious of her gemstone thinks that’s a good idea, Peridot can’t decipher.

Inevitably, duties call. They get another round of worship from the humans before leaving, and they seem unhappy but thankfully not angry to see the gems leave. They are given a few gifts, including a bag of raw meat - apparently for the wolf cub. 

As time passes, there’s the static of work with the splashes of exploration. Peridot, unable to help herself, continues to check in with the human colony. She figures she might as well study the organics for as long as they are still able to exist here. 

Though ready for work on her return from an outing a few weeks later in Earth time, fate has other plans for Peridot and Lapis. A number of gems are gathered and clogging up the Kindergarten. Nonstop conversation ripples through them. 

“What’s all the noise about?” Peridot scrambles through the crowd, trying not to get knocked over by ignorant elite gems.

A Tourmaline says with their voice dripping of excitement, “Pink Diamond is making a visit to the Beta Kindergarten! Are we not so lucky?”

Peridot gasps, “Zuli, Pink Diamond! I’ve never even seen Pink Diamond from a distance!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Way to pull out the enthusiasm there, Zuli.”

“I am who I am Peri.”

Peridot smiles at her. “I wouldn’t change it though!”

Pink Diamond steps out of her palanquin, and the crowd gossip becomes a roar. Even Lapis gawks in amazement at this point. Peridot’s eyes are drawn to the entourage. Specifically, her attention is drawn to the humble Pearl - strike that she’s the loveliest thing that Peridot’s had the luxury to lay eyes on. 

“Wow fancy. That’s the finest cut I’ve ever seen, and Pearls are everywhere.”

“Pink Diamond is here, and you’re drooling over a Pearl,” Lapis mumbes, her voice dripping wry amusement. “Figures.”

Peridot nudges her. “Hey, I’m excited about Pink Diamond too! I’m - I’m merely observing. That’s part of my job description you know.”

Lapis giggles. She wraps an arm around Peridot’s waist and leans into her, nearly knocking her down. “Always full of excuses.”

They look up to notice that Pink Diamond and her Pearl have stopped. Pink Diamond is staring directly at them. With a hard sinking sensation in the midsection of her form, Peridot realizes the reason. Other gems glance at them, expressions full of alarm. Their behavior is accepted within the circles of middle class gems but not displayed as such in public.

They’re not in appropriate formation, and they’re goofing around in the midst of a Diamond parade. She flushes with embarrassment and averts her gaze. Lapis pulls her arms to her sides and raises her chin, attempting to look more like the high class gem that she is.

However, when Peridot takes a furtive glance, Pink Diamond is smiling. Her Pearl just has a perplexed expression. They move on without a word from the Diamond. Peridot breathes a small sigh of relief.

Pink Diamond is taken on a tour, and there’s a minor celebration with mingling and dancing. After seeing humans dance, the rigidness of gem dancing and interaction is oddly jarring. 

“This is boring,” Lapis says under her breath. “We might as well just go back to work.” 

Peridot strongly agrees, but she keeps her tongue. A Lapis can get away with a lot more than a Peridot, and she isn’t going to risk any gem overhearing her.

Once the Diamond entourage has cleared out - to the obvious disappointment of many gems - work resumes as usual. Peridot is relieved when the crowd dissipates and elite gems stop nearly running her over like she’s not even there. If she didn’t have the limb enhancers, Peridot is certain she would’ve been trampled in her life a thousand times over. 

She manages to get a stalled injector running again, so that it can finish injecting the makings of a gem. An orange Opal loudly complains to a Morganite about Peridot’s work ethic. Peridot grinds her teeth and keeps herself aloof by sheer willpower. She doesn’t care how urgent this gem production is, there’s a right way to do it, and this Kindergarten has already been hastened to a ruinous degree. 

She grins when Lapis off-handedly remarks in Peridot’s direction, “Doesn’t it seem like some gems use a recent big event as an excuse to stand around and gossip?”

The gems glare at her, but they don’t deign to give a response as they move on. Peridot checks her screen where she has put a tag on Pumpkin. She’s sleeping in one of the holes at the base of the wall. She doesn’t worry too much, as Lapis can fly Pumpkin away should any gem threaten her. 

Peridot is moving to the next injector when a ridiculously tall Quartz soldier gets in the way.

“Do you mind?”

After a moment, she realizes this seems to be the perfectly cut gem that emerged from that one passable, _gigantic_ hole. She wishes she could eat her own words. The soldier tersely introduces herself as a Jasper. 

The Jasper narrows her eyes and says, “My Diamond has requested your presence on the moon base. Don’t be late, or I’ll personally punish you.”

The moment she’s _barely_out of hearing range, Lapis says, “What’s got her gem in a twist?”

“Shh!”

Pumpkin follows them to the warp pad. Lapis tries to shoo her away, but the wolf cub merely tilts her head and whines. Lapis throws a stick, but Pumpkin ignores it. She plops her bottom down at Lazuli’s feet. 

Peridot asserts, “Oh stars just take her!” 

Peridot picks up Pumpkin and shoves her into Lazuli’s human-sewn tote thing, a parting gift from the townspeople. It’s a miracle no gems have questioned its existence yet.

The moon base is no more interesting than any other. Peridot is at a loss to be this close to Pink Diamond. The few other gems milling around the lower floors don’t even look at Peridot. She’s far beneath them. Lapis stiffens when they near to passing two Agates. Peridot moves to the other side of Lapis to block their view and help her feel more secure.

Peridot takes the stance of the Diamond salute once she reaches the Diamond’s room and waits to be addressed. She kicks Lapis in the shin so she does the same.

For someone frightened of the Diamonds, Lapis sure does have issues with authority. She’s a walking contradiction and a constant source of stress for Peridot. She winces when there’s a slight squirm from the tote bag. She hides it with her body.

“My dazzling, radiant Diamond! It is truly a treat to be in your presence.”

“Bootlicker,” Lapis mumbles.

“You’re the first Peridot I’ve ever encountered,” Pink Diamond says. “Even Pearl’s never - we had to look it up.”

The Pearl’s gaze, meanwhile, is locked on Lapis. For some reason, that makes Peridot uncomfortable. The Pearl finally breaks her silence.

She questions, seemingly to no one in particular, “Why is a Peridot accompanied by this Lapis Lazuli? Lazulis aren’t guards and Peridots aren’t servants.”

Peridot narrows her eyes. No one spoke to the Pearl, and her Diamond didn’t indicate anything. “Pardon me?”

Pearl startles, as though she didn’t expect Peridot to address her.

“I merely wonder what purpose this could serve. Your designated jobs have minimal overlap, the Lazuli outranks you, and besides that they don’t usually have…” Pearl winces, an out of place expression to Peridot. “Personal… use.”

“She’s my best friend, we’ve been together since shortly after we emerged from our Kindergarten, and this line is severely off topic, I assume.” Peridot continues, “My Diamond forgive me, but is it within your usual dictation to allow your Pearl to initiate conversation?”

“I was merely pointing out -”

“You are not relevant.”

The Pearl falls silent and has the gall to glare at her. Pink Diamond steps forward and offers Peridot and Lapis a greeting. 

“Welcome to my moon base. I hope I wasn’t interrupting your work.” She doesn’t bother answering the question about her Pearl. Peridot decides to let it go, if Pink Diamond doesn’t deem it important enough.

“It’s no problem of course. What is it I’m needed here for, my Diamond?”

Pink Diamond gestures, and the Pearl brings up something on the screen. Peridot moves in closer, in awe to be allowed to peruse the colony blueprints. 

Pink Diamond murmurs, “I’m looking for… weaknesses in the mechanisms, so that I may be prepared in the event of sabotage.”

Something about her voice sounds… strange to Peridot. Like it’s off, somehow. She shakes off the feeling. She follows logic and facts, not random unexplainable emotion. As Peridot examines the blueprint, her highly attuned senses picked up on some whispered conversation.

“I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this,” the Pearl says.

“Not much longer, just stay strong.”

Peridot thinks she must be mishearing. Their exchange makes no sense at all. She focuses on her technical work, making great strides. Unexpectedly, she hits a bump.

“Hmmm.”

Pink Diamond asks, “What is it?”

Peridot is frozen, for a second, when she glances Lapis crawling on the floor chasing after Pumpkin. She must have escaped the bag while that Pearl was being… _distracting._ Apparently Pink Diamond and the Pearl have not noticed, or quite the scene would be made. She collects herself. 

“There’s a blindspot, here in the Beta Kindergarten. Someone could easily move through this tunnel, escaping notice. It would enable them to slip past the best of the best guards with minimal adversity.”

Pearl claps her hands, “That’s it!”

Peridot’s focus sharply turns to her. “What.”

Pearl shrinks away. “I. I mean. Well spotted. But have you considered that inactive drill? If it’s removed the entire wall could collapse.”

Peridot blinks. Once again, she was not invited to speak. A Pearl would _never_ even be asked for their thoughts on something left solely to a technician. Peridot studies the location of Pearl’s gemstone with uncertainty. Perhaps, Pink Diamond is lenient and allows this behavior, in return for a beneficial output.

The fact that the Pearl can even keep up with Peridot or the blueprints is… impressive. She’s overwhelmed. She zooms in and out uselessly as she gets her mind back on track.

“You are… correct.” There’s no point in bringing attention to Pearl’s behavior this time, since it was obliquely dismissed in the prior occurrence. “However, in this condition, only a Spinel is limber enough to remove it, barring that, perhaps a bunch of exceedingly strong Jaspers.”

Pink Diamond jerks without warning and knocks an oddly shaped rock from the console that Peridot hadn’t noticed. Examining the console, she identifies several other Earthly objects organized across it in a strict pattern. Apparently, Peridot is not the only one fascinated with the properties of Earth. 

Peridot surges onward, “A gem with telekinetic powers could only so much as rip the legs off. As a certified Kindergartner, I can tell you that drills are more complex structures than they first appear -”

Peridot continues to relay her knowledge of how a Kindergarten system works. Pearl occasionally interjects with her own input, to Peridot’s continued agitation. No other gem has suffered such little trouble keeping up with her. It’s vexing, and Peridot is entranced.

Pink Diamond is silently watching, but it’s apparent that she isn’t following along with the technical speech. Occasionally, she’ll fiddle with the trinkets on the console, only for them to be placed back - immediately - in their proper placements by the Pearl once she’s done.

That means the Pearl is the organized one, which makes sense.

Pearl yelps in surprise and leaps backward. Peridot is startled, and if she were a weaker gem her light based form would’ve wavered. As it is, she pressed the wrong button the screen and nearly erased the current file and crashed the system. 

A series of events is carried out.

Pearl trips into Pink Diamond, who breaks her fall with ease. However, Pearl kicks out on what seems like an impulse. Her foot slams into the console. Rocks and sculptures of various shapes and sizes are knocked on the floor. Lapis leaps over the console and collides into Peridot, causing them both to follow the Diamond’s collection to the floor. Lapis rolls away with a grunt. 

Pumpkin is licking Peridot’s face while Pearl points at the wolf with a petrified expression, as though it’s a bomb that’s going to explode. Pink Diamond slaps her hands to her face and proclaims, “It’s so cuuuuuuuuute.”

Pearl demands - indeed, _demands_, “How on Earth did this organic lifeform get inside the moon base?! Who is responsible for - There are none native here! Someone _must_ remove this mess inducing animal at once - ”

Pink Diamond quickly states, “It wasn’t me.”

Peridot grasps Pumpkin’s scruff. _What in the star system? Of course it wasn’t her. She’s a Diamond for pity’s sake._ Was she secretly adopting a hoard of organics? Ridiculous.

Peridot continues to grasp Pumpkin as she makes an undignified scramble to a standing position. There is simply no way to manage it with grace. Lapis slowly rises beside her, the picture of a sheepish and irresponsible pet owner. 

Pearl puts her hands on her hips. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You’re one to talk! You’re the most imprudent Pearl I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting!”

She meant to call it displeasure… but it’s too late now. She doubts the high-strung gem in front of her will catch on to that specifically.

Pearl blushes and recoils. “My - my profuse apologies, most esteemed Peridot.”

Oh, _now_ she’s proper? Peridot stares with incomprehension, something which is unfamiliar to her as the brightest gem to emerge from her entire Homeworld Kindergarten. She was shamelessly mouthy just a few minutes ago.

Peridot embraces Pumpkin to her chest, not knowing what will happen next.

Pink Diamond questions, “Does this lifeform… belong to you?”

“Y- N - Yes and no, my Diamond. I - you see - The creature’s entire colony was killed by a runaway drill. It was… much smaller and quite helpless when we stumbled upon it. We figured out that it has to eat smaller organics to survive… but it’s too young to get food itself.”

Lapis finishes, “After that, Pumpk - the cub just started to follow us around. That’s how it came to be here… she just… didn’t want to stay behind. So I snuck her in this… tote.”

Pearl frowns at the wolf cub, visibly perturbed by its existence. Peridot expects her to make a remark, but she is frustratingly silent. 

Pink Diamond continues, “Where did you get that? It doesn’t look like it was fashioned by gems.”

Lapis clings to the strap. “Incidentally, we… prevented a human town from being drowned. I know it was pointless but we couldn’t just… do nothing.”

“Those bizarre, primitive beings worshiped us and showed us their gratitude,” Peridot fills in. “What middle class gem in their right mind would turn _that_ down?!”

Pink Diamond shares a long, meaningful look with the Pearl. Usually a keen observer, Peridot cannot figure out what they’re communicating to each other. 

“Isn’t it fascinating how the organic creatures grow and change? So much potential in their short lives…”

“My. _Diamond_. Perhaps you are forgetting the task at hand.” 

Pink Diamond pressed her lips together and cut herself off. “Nevermind. Were you finished with the specs, Peridot?”

“I believe I have accounted for all that I can, my Diamond.” 

“I have one last question for you Peridot - if you wouldn’t mind. It’s on the personal side of things,” Pink Diamond requests. 

“Anything you wish to know, my Diamond.”

_Please_, don’t be something that will get her shattered.

“According to the database, you have… artificial limb extensions?”

“We’ve never seen technology like this,” Pearl interjects. “It’s beyond anything that I’m familiar with on Homeworld!”

Peridot raises an eyebrow at the specification of Homeworld. Is she familiar with other technologies on _other_ worlds? Peridot answers, “That’s because I invented them.”

Pearl repeats incredulously, “Invented? Really?”

“Yep,” Lapis says, squeezing Peridot’s shoulders and rubbing her cheek against Peridot’s. “Isn’t she _amazing?_ Isn’t she intelligent and talented?”

Peridot grumbles, “What are you _doing_, Zuli.”

“Assisting.”

Pearl responds with a delicate tone, “Okay.”

“That’s incredible,” Pink Diamond gushes. “You two seem close… that must be nice. I sense there’s a story behind that, but I won’t intrude further.”

“It’s alright, my Diamond.” At this point, Peridot is just desperate to stay in their presence for a while longer. Pink Diamond is endearingly odd and the Pearl is… it escapes any definition that Peridot can immediately pull to the surface.

“We emerged on Homeworld, same Kindergarten, same day. However, we were at different parts, and Lapis is around twelve hours older. I was surrounded by other Peridots, but it was apparent... we had been abandoned by whoever was supposed to guide us,” Peridot begins, eyes tearing up already at the memory of all the feelings. “I ended up getting them into formation and off to their assignments. In the process I ran into some Elites…”

Lapis rubs Pumpkin’s ears as she chimes in, “They were picking on me. I’ve always been a little… awkward, I suppose. Some might call it off color, even though my cut and composition is near perfect. They were pushing me around and pulling on my appearance modifiers.”

Peridot jumps back in, “I - in all my meager four foot tall, hours old glory - informed these Agates and Citrines that their slacking of duties would not be tolerated. If they continued to play games instead of working, I said I would be happy to report them to Yellow Diamond. They scattered!”

It doesn’t escape her that her small audience’s attention is quite captured. She continues, “That was just the beginning of an eventual beautiful and annoying friendship. Lapis thanked me, but I admit I was rather dismissive of her. I was ready to move on. Anyway… a few years later, I got into a severe argument with my manager, Hessonite Garnet. I had made a minor miscalculation.”

“She was cruel and unjustified,” Lapis says. “I’m not proud to admit I had been keeping a close eye on Peridot, as her kindness had quite an impact on me. Also… I had a difficult time fitting in. I wasn’t as… impressive and impassive as Peridot. I begged the Hessonite to spare her, then I implied that… Blue Diamond had requested her directly for a mission and would be displeased if anything happened to her.”

Peridot burst into laughter, startling Pumpkin, Lapis, and Pearl. Pink Diamond is grinning ear to ear and unaffected by her sound. “Nyahaha! She _lied_, plain and simple, to a superior’s face!”

“I may have… stretched the truth.”

“She’s modest.” Peridot mimes punching her in the arm, and Lapis dramatically grabs it as though injured. False violence with actual contact is something they do in private and around gems of the same class, but never in front of gems the likes of these. That would be uncouth.

“What a lovely tale,” Pink Diamond commends. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“We’d best return to our mission on Earth now.” 

Pink Diamond chooses to walk Peridot and Lapis to the warp. It isn’t that off-putting, as she credits it to the rebellion paranoia. Gems are increasingly watchful and strained with each other on this colony, having that reach the highest echelons isn’t a mystery.

Peridot adds, “A suggestion that you can take or leave but… I would be careful with your… indulgence toward your Pearl. Should Yellow or Blue Diamond witness _that_… they would be quite furious I’d imagine. I - do not take this the wrong way. I simply think it would be a shame and a waste for such a superb example of her gemstone to be shattered in the blink of an eye.”

Peridot passes Pumpkin into the arms of Lapis. She salutes Pink Diamond and bows. Pearl stutters something in response while Pink Diamond appears amused, but the warp pad activates before Peridot hears anything coherent.

They return to Earth, but Peridot’s thoughts remain with the moon base.

“That Pearl… so smart, so opinionated, so concise… where does she get off acting like that?”

“Are you… angry,” Lapis ventures, raising an eyebrow, “at that Pearl’s nerve?”

“Are you kidding!” Peridot pauses and practically swoons. “I think I’m... _in love_. 

Peridot paces and waves her arms around in the air as she gushes, “Have you ever seen a gem so pretty you don’t know what to do with yourself? Pfft… As if that Pearl would ever look my way beyond mild acquaintanceship.”

“With... _her?_ Hmm… whatever polishes your gemstone. You could… ask Pink Diamond if you can court her,” Lapis suggests. “It’s rare that Pearls are allowed to enter courtship with a gem of a higher class, but Pink Diamond seems er- looser with the rules.”

“WHAT! I can’t do that, she’s a Diamond’s Pearl! A Diamond! Can you imagine what they would say back on Homeworld, to see a Peridot prancing around with a Pearl on her arm?” 

“So?”

Peridot is frustrated and rakes her floating fingers through her hair. “Were you made yesterday?!”

“At least I didn’t take my good old time,” Lapis responds. 

Peridot flicks her on the ear, and she just raises her shoulder and snorts in amusement at her own joke. Technically, they should’ve been nowhere near emerging on the same day - Lapis was exactly on schedule, but Peridot and the rest of her batch were horribly past their due date. 

Peridot needs time to think. They decide to visit the human city. As always, humans bow in their wake, showering their saviors with thankful praises. Peridot basks in it. Once the Earth’s organic qualities have been demolished to make way for the colony - which looked to be quite astounding on the moon base diagrams - she won’t get this. 

At some point water falls from the sky in pellets. Peridot initially panics before she uses her screen to determine what’s going on. It’s surprising she didn’t encounter this before. Lapis enjoys the storm, spinning in circles with her arms out and cheerfully hollering at the zaps of lightning and crashes of thunder. Peridot crouches under an outcrop, stroking Pumpkin who trembles beside her knee. While she’s relieved the planet isn’t cracking in half or something, she’s not comfortable with it enough to be out in the open like Lapis.

In the evening, the storm has settled into a light rain. The Chief human offers them each a plate of food. It’s succulent as always. Pumpkin gets well fed with fresh meat as well, and she goes to play with the other tamed wolves owned by humans. The Chief approaches Peridot at the end of the meal.

In his strange language easily translated by a gem’s matrix, he says, “My son will soon be married. It would honor us if you would bless the ceremony.”

Peridot gives a simple nod. The translation doesn’t work as well the other way around.

Love - celebrated and on open display with the humans. Though she’s quite enamored with the Pearl, it could never be anything like this on Homeworld. 

It wouldn’t be dissimilar to her friendship with Lapis, except she and Pearl would touch their gems when they greet and when they part. Peridot would probably get an honorary position in Pink’s court, and Pearl would gain respect from any gem below Peridot’s rank even if they were usually higher than a Pearl.

Blatant physical affection on the other hand, well it isn’t exactly _alien_ . However, it’s highly taboo, especially ever since those rumors going around that two totally different gems _fused_ just by - running into each other and spinning.

Peridot thinks it’s drenched with paranoia. She’s constantly physically friendly with Lapis, and they haven’t accidentally fused. There has to be some explanation. Maybe there’s something to their fears and it’s - as absurd as it might seem - because of love. Fusion for love hasn’t knowingly been done, of course the unknown would be scary. Peridot herself doesn’t see what harm it could do, though she doesn’t entirely understand why gems would want to go around like that serving no functional purpose. There have been tales of those Crystal Gems forming cross-fusions to fight. Peridot would like to witness that - how do they even mesh themselves well enough to participate in a coordinated battle?

Peridot watches the bride and groom giving their vows, kissing, and crying. People witnessing the wedding cheer and cry. They talk, laugh, and eat through the night. All of this for love! It’s madness. It’s joy.

Lapis leans her head on Peridot’s shoulder. “Do you think someone could love me like that?”

“I’m surprised someone hasn’t already, you’re _so_ charming,” Peridot mutters sarcastically. 

Lapis snorts and shoves mashed vegetables into her face. Peridot swats her away and feeds the mush to Pumpkin. She briefly strokes Lazuli’s hair and ponders the idea of returning to Homeworld once the rebellion ends and the colony is finished.

It doesn’t seem as bright anymore. They could stay in the new colony, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Peridot doesn’t entirely want to return to walking on her figurative toes, afraid of upsetting an Elite gem or being caught too openly displaying camaraderie with another gem. She’s always bent the rules anyway. Here on Earth though, she isn’t constantly looking over her shoulder waiting for the anvil to fall.

She knows after what she’s seen on Earth, that there’s more to love than rank and flattery. She can only hope that the Pearl - she really needs to think of a nickname like she did with Lapis - will be open to new expressions of love. Even if they have to go behind the backs of the Elite, love is worth it. The freedom of Earth may soon come to an end, but Peridot is nothing if not resourceful, cunning, and determined. She’ll make it _work_.

The humans begin a dancing ritual. 

Lapis tugs a resistant Peridot into the arena. “May I have this dance?”

Peridot agrees - why not? It’s exciting to let loose without Elite gems breathing down her neck. At one point, time slows when their eyes meet. Peridot has a unique sensation, like her consciousness and form are tying themselves to Lazuli’s. She heaves a harsh mental jolt and wrenches herself out of reach.

They collapse on the ground, staring at each other. Lapis snorts.

“What was that?”

“Something… not allowed.”

Lapis hauls Peridot to her feet. Peridot glances at the humans. Some are checking if the gems are unharmed, but they seem otherwise disinterested. Lapis has an odd look on her face.

“What?”

“It wouldn’t be… terrible to fuse would it? Just to try it?”

Peridot gapes. “No, we can’t! If we were caught we would get in so much trouble. There isn’t protocol for cross gem fusion! What if we get stuck like that?”

Lapis sighs and flicks her hair. “Don’t crack your facet. I was merely thinking out loud.”

“Well… maybe if there’s… a real threat, but if we do it for frivolous reasons, our gems will definitely be on the line.”

“I get it. But we’re far from the colony, no gems are patrolling this far.”

Peridot scratches the back of her neck. She pushed the buttons on the edges of her limb enhancers, detaching them. She doesn’t know what fusing would do to them, and she’d rather not have to rebuild. She offers the end of her palm, which Lapis delicately grabs. They enter a waltz, though Lapis mixes it up a bit, laughing at her own antics. Peridot laughs along with her. They fuse, this time all the way through. It feels incredible, and she can’t bring herself to resist.

The one-eyed girl points, “Look at that! So pretty...”

“Our Goddesses have become one entity,” someone else remarks. “What does it mean?”

“I think it means love,” Ayashe says. Many humans respond to this assessment by hugging, holding hands, or kissing. 

“Hello little humans, it is I, Turquoise!” She performs an upward spiral while flying through the air. She gives the thick clouds a push, causing the droplets to pour harder and faster. “I’m going to dance in the rain.”

Humans form in a circle around them, waving their arms and kicking their feet, excited by this new development. Her mental acuity heightened by the Peridot half, but with Lazuli’s understanding of nature, they make an adjustment to the farming and plumbing systems of the city, improving the design and efficiency. Her mind is soon more interested in having fun again, and she creates giant bubbles. The humans get into canoes, which are rapidly floated through the air on the concentrated orbs. 

Later, the humans sang a lament as they bid their unfused “goddesses” farewell. They take the route on foot in order to enjoy the scenery and the setting sun. The cycles of night and day on this planet mean nothing to gems, but it’s interesting how the humans live by it. Gems have their own clocks and schedules, though that mechanism does not obey the movement of a planet. 

Pumpkin jogs alongside them, making happy little yips. Peridot figures she’ll be as big as those other wolves someday soon, and it's a strange thought. Whatever size a gem emerges, that’s the size they will stay forever without artificial intervention. Well, other than fusion - she had gained a bit of height from sharing Lazuli’s side of things. 

“What’s your secret, Pumpkin?” Peridot demands, “Share it so I can grow like you!”

Pumpkin leaps up and licks her face. “Ew, Pumpkin!”

She proceeds to chase Pumpkin across the starlit field, Lapis racing and laughing behind them. They calm as they near the Kindergarten. Lapis walks a few paces behind her, trying to appear as if she has never met the organic beast at her side in her life.

The Jasper stops their progress toward the warp. “Halt! State your business.”

“I wish to have audience with Pink Diamond,” Peridot answers.

“What is the nature of your business?”

Peridot briefly considers lying before admitting softly, “...Personal.”

They stare at each other. Jasper doesn’t move. She growls, “You are required to elaborate.”

“But it’s personal!”

Jasper glowers and looms over her. “There is a rebellion going on.”

Peridot groans and concedes, “I seek her permit to court a gem of her entourage!”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Jasper steps aside. “The Lazuli stays here. In seeking such a permit, you must go alone.”

Lapis looks displeased as she crosses her arms. Thankfully for Peridot’s form pressure, Lapis doesn’t dare to argue with the Jasper. Peridot steps on the warp pad. She climbs to the highest room of the moon base. Pink Diamond has her head resting on her hand, tapping inanely through the files on the computer. Peridot looks at her feet, embarrassed to be privy to the Diamond’s relaxed behavior.

The Pearl grabs Pink Diamond’s attention and announces, “It appears you have company. The Peridot is here to see you.”

“Oh! Hello again!” Pink Diamond eagerly comes over. “How are you?”

Peridot blinks in the face of the casual address, as though she’s an elite gem. Come to think of it, Yellow Diamond doesn’t even talk to _her_ elite gems _like that_.

“I’m… well?” Peridot salutes her. 

“You… don’t have to do that, Peridot.”

“My Diamond,” the Pearl mumbles with a surprising amount of _warning_ in her tone.

“The salute? It… makes me feel better.” Peridot doesn’t know what she would do with her arms if they weren’t in this respectful position.

“Oh, if that’s the case. What do you seek my audience for? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing like that!” Peridot is baffled that Pink Diamond is still talking to her directly instead of having the Pearl pass the message, and it’s making her nervous. However, considering what she’s about to ask, she’s thankful for it. “I am here on a personal matter.”

“Yes?”

Peridot manages to grit out without glancing at her intended, “Permission. For. Courtship.”

Pink Diamond folds her hands and her entire being seems to light up. “That’s wonderful! I love officiating courtship!”

“Right… I, Peridot Facet-25FL Cut-5XG hereby request permission to formally court…” Peridot’s voice cracks as her courage falters, “Ahem, to formally court your finely cut Pearl, my Diamond. She is an astute genius worthy of my persistent attention.”

Pearl turns to stare at her, eyes wide. Voicelessly she mouths, _‘Truly me?’_

“Oh! Wonderful!” Pink Diamond perks. She beckons Pearl closer. The Pearl seems reluctant, but she comes up by her side nonetheless. She bows to Peridot, her eyes displaying uncertainty. 

“I know this isn’t protocol but… how do you feel about this, Pearl?”

Gems are usually at the mercy of their superior permitting or denying a courtship attempt. Peridot is not at all taken aback by Pink Diamond checking in with Pearl’s thoughts on the matter, given what observations Peridot has made of their casual leaning relationship.

Pearl locks eyes with Pink Diamond. Peridot waits with bated breath as the pair appear to have a conversation entirely through their gazes again. She closes her eyes for a moment and hopes that Lapis isn’t getting into any trouble while they take their time deciding.

Pearl gives a slight nod.

“I, Pink Diamond, director of the Earth colony, hereby grant you permission to court my Pearl.”

Peridot notices starkly the use of the respectful _‘my’_ instead of something general. It could be a mere slip of the tongue. There’s absolutely no cause to mention it. She’s not in a position to call out a Diamond.

Peridot responds, “Oh my stars… Thank you my Diamond!”

As is custom, Peridot steps forward and offers her palm. Pearl takes her hand. They move in close and tap their gems together. Pink Diamond makes a noise that can only be compared to a squeal. Peridot has the terrible urge to kiss the Pearl like she’s observed of those organic bipeds. It would be completely inappropriate. 

She gives another salute and then leaves, before she can accidentally make a further fool of herself. That went fairly well, all things considered. She checks for company when she steps off the warp pad. Lapis is dozing at the bottom of the stairs, snoring loud enough to compete with the drilling noises. A curious soldier pokes her with a staff. 

Peridot calls, “Lazuli! Lapis Lazuli! Lazuliii!”

Laps startles and accidentally punches the soldier with a water hand, sending her flying across the Kindergarten. Thank the stars it wasn’t that scary huge Jasper, at least. Peridot clears the stairs in a single jump. 

“Oops,” Lapis says without remorse in her tone. “Peri? So how’d it -”

Peridot tackles her into a hug just as she gets to her feet. “She said yessssss!”

“Woo-hoo!” Lapis laughs and spins Peridot around. The sound of a horn causes them to pause. It’s not a familiar sound, like any of the ones used on Homeworld. They hold onto each other. Pumpkin runs circles around them, yapping.

In a mere few blinding minutes, the Beta Kindergarten is converted into a warzone. Gems that aren’t soldiers flee in all directions, nearly bowling one another over. Peridot hides her face in Lazuli’s neck as she grasps Peridot tight. Pumpkin whines and worms her way between Lazuli’s ankles to hide.

They wait until the chaos settles a bit before taking flight. Lapis carries Pumpkin. She gives Peridot a long, odd look, her brows furrowed.

Peridot asks, “What is it?”

“Why is your scanner beeping?”

Peridot brings it up. “I don’t know.”

“What did you use it for recently?”

“I had it pre-set it to scan the Pearl’s information once it detected that Pink Diamond had given permission for us to court…”

Peridot loses altitude as she examines the scanner’s contents in shock. _No, no, no._

“Peri!” Lapis dives down to level with Peridot’s wavering flight path. “What’s the matter? Don’t fly too low you could get caught in a crossfire!”

“We should’ve never came to this stupid planet, in the middle of this stupid war. Do you see this?”

Peridot shows her the interface. Lapis squints at it, then shakes her head. “You know I don’t understand your technology.”

Peridot huffs. She follows the scanner to the spot indicated and makes an abrupt landing behind a familiar figure. The gem freezes and rotates slowly to face her. The Pearl is alone without any other rebel gems in her immediate vicinity, but Peridot is not about to underestimate her. Peridot arms her energy cannon as Lapis soundlessly lands beside her.

“I know the truth,” Peridot says, raising her voice a bit over the clashing sounds of the nearby battle. “I know who you are!”

Lapis puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks confused but doesn’t speak.

Pearl replies softly, “What do you mean?”

Peridot brings up the scanner’s results to show Pearl. She knows it will be understood. “Renegade Pearl. Pink Diamond’s Pearl. I scanned you the day you almost attacked us and - and when I - you are one and the same!”

Lapis gasps. “No way!”

Pumpkin struggles in her arms and growls, probably upset by all the noise and fighting. The wind picks up around them. Peridot feels tears slide down her cheeks, but she tenses and doesn’t bother trying to get rid of them.

Pearl lowers her gaze. She produces a sword from her gem and thrusts it towards them threateningly. Her appearance is slightly altered from when she’s at Pink Diamond’s side, but now that Peridot truly _looks_, she feels like an idiot for missing the puzzle pieces. Lapis raises her hands and curls her fingers, ready to help fight her off. 

“Peridot. Don’t make me do this,” Pearl pleads. “Leave and pretend you don’t have this information.”

Lapis snarls, “What are you going to do, shatter us? I’m not going down without a fight.”

“No…” Pearl’s expression softens. “We don’t… shatter. At worst, you’ll be bubbled until we’re certain you won’t pose a threat.”

Lapis doesn’t appear to believe that. Peridot doesn’t know what to believe anymore, or who to trust. Everything she’s known could be a system of lies.

Before any one of them can speak, Quartz soldiers led by _that_ Jasper surround them.

Jasper commands, “Get the rebels!”

Plural? But there’s only -

Quartz spears are aimed at her and Lapis. This is _really_bad. Lapis lowers her arms and backs away. Peridot shuts off her energy cannon. Their chances will be worse if they threaten the more powerful soldiers with their weapons.

“Hold on, we’re not -”

“Save it you disgusting traitors,” Jasper interrupts. “Get that Pearl out of the way, they’re not purposed for fighting.”

Pearl squawks as she’s dragged away from Peridot and tucked between the soldiers. Her sword is knocked to the ground. She shouts at them and tries to break free, but naturally she is ignored. 

Jasper leans in close to Peridot’s face. “You’ve been sharing inside information haven’t you, using Pink Diamond’s fondness of you against her. How dare you. I would shatter you on the spot, but I want to wring you for all that you’re worth.”

Beside her, Lapis visibly shakes with rage. Peridot locks her teeth and tries to beg Lapis with her eyes for her not to do anything. Lapis glares at Jasper, and Peridot knows it’s a lost cause. The moment that Jasper grabs Peridot’s arm so hard it causes her to yelp, Lapis snaps. 

Soldiers are flung in all directions. Pearl grabs her sword and joins the fray, poofing the surprised Quartzes. Before Peridot can react to a thing, Jasper grabs Lapis, slams her on the ground, then throws her against a rock. A sickening crack echoes through the valley. Peridot drops to her knees and screams.

In the next blink, Pumpkin sinks her teeth into Jasper’s arm. Jasper laughs, tugs the adolescent animal from her form and drops it to the dirt. The other remaining Quartz stabs the wolf between the shoulder blades with her gem spear before getting poofed by the quick footed Pearl.

Peridot cries, “Lazuli get up! Please get up!”

“Shut your pipe you inferior…” Jasper materializes her helmet and charges toward Peridot. Pearl cries out in warning, but Peridot is numb with shock. 

“You have to move!” 

Pearl grips her wrist and pulls on her insistently. She goes along, and the momentum causes them to spin. Pearl shifts her feet to keep them balanced. Peridot’s prominent thought is of Lapis and Pumpkin, how weak she is to fail them. She doesn’t know what she did to deserve their unflinching loyalty in the face of danger and destruction. 

Light fills the space between them. Someone new takes her place. The fusion examines her extra hands with interest. Her mind process information at an accelerated rate. She decides to call herself _Chrysoberyl_. She reaches out, and she can feel them, the drills. She knows exactly how to dispatch them.

“Wait why?” To herself she says, “That will destroy the Kindergarten… Pink Diamond would be disappointed. Wouldn’t she?”

Suddenly, Perid - the fusion isn’t certain of that. Pink Diamond didn’t appear particularly interested in the colony. She would rather hear the stories of lower gems, she would rather permit a courtship.

“But doesn’t she - don’t I want to protect my friends? They’re hurt.”

Chrysoberyl produces a spear from the higher gem. A gem weapon? Did she know she had that? Yes. Part of her did, anyway. She slams it into Jasper’s helmet as she charges and holds her back with the combined strength of two gems.

Jasper pauses, grimacing at her. “What are you doing? Forcing a gem to fuse with you just to make your insignificant self stronger - pathetic!”

Chrysoberyl produces two more spears with little effort and tosses them at Jasper’s feet, forcing her to stumble backwards. Her face crumples with rage. Chrysoberyl has a minor concern, did she force this? Is Jasper right? 

“No, I want to help you - me - us? But who am I - we - to you?” 

Chrysoberyl activates the flight ability of her limb enhancers and puts rapid distance between herself and the Jasper. She tears off the legs of the drills and drives them into the walls. Jasper drops to her knees and yells, “Do it coward! You’ll wish you’ll be shattered after this!”

With another flick of her wrists, the walls come down in a cascade of rocks and defunct drills. Jasper is buried, but Chrysoberyl doubts she is taken care of for good. She stares at her hands again.

“Whose power was that?”

“Peridot doesn’t have power, or a gem weapon. Homeworld’s resources were in shortage.”

“Well, Pearl certainly can’t do that!”

Chrysoberyl’s mind is racing with her overpowering thoughts - so much conflicts between the knowledge of the two gems. They each fight for dominance. Chrysoberyl cannot remain stable amongst the confusion, and they separate. 

Peridot unsteadily pushes herself up, weight held by her shaking arms. She yelps and flexes her limbs in panic. “Where… where are my limb enhancers?!”

The ground beneath her rumbles as more rocks fall from the broken Kindergarten. She watches in horror as her enhancers are entombed. She glances around, panicked and clouded. Pearl stands tall and proud at the foot of the mess, a triumphant smile on her face. Tears stream down Peridot’s face as the recent events flash in her mind. She _fused_ with Pearl?! How did that even happen - how is it possible? Did Pearl _make_ it happen so she could destroy the Kindergarten?

Lapis and Pumpkin are probably dead, and all this Pearl cares about is the stupid rebellion!

Peridot can deal with her in a minute. She rushes to find her friends, who luckily weren’t left anywhere near the walls that had been collapsed. She places her hand on Pumpkin and feels the rise and fall of her chest. It’s slow. Pumpkin whines and her legs struggle. Peridot gently pets and shushes her. Peridot crawls on all fours to Lapis, whose body is bent over a rock, on her back. That’s where her gem is, her wonderful, precious gem. 

Her form phases in and out, limbs turning into water and back again. Her eyes are open and blank. Peridot covers her mouth to muffle the screams. They turn into painful sobs. She doesn’t want to see, she already knows. However, she carefully flips Lapis over and shakily drags her off the rock to lay in her lap. Her tears splash onto Lazuli’s form and gem. It’s cracked, horribly, irreparably cracked.

“Cracked gems can’t function,” Peridot yells to the sky, except it comes out feeble and raspy. “She’ll be shattered if the gem doesn’t give up before then. I should just…”

She recalls how she snuffed that dying wolf’s life. That was just a random organic. Peridot doesn’t think for a second she can pull that off with her best friend or their lovable, faithful pet. She wraps her arms around her friend and wobbles back and forth. Her entire body shakes with the force of her anguish. Footsteps approach her, but she doesn’t move. If her life ends here, she would welcome it. Continuing without them would be a fate worse than the ceasement of her fleeting existence.

“Peridot?”

“Go away! They’re going to die because of your _pointless_ rebellion. Is that what you wanted? For innocent gems to _die?_”

“It’s not pointless!” Pearl sighs. “I’m sorry to do this, but I need to get them out of here, and I can’t trust you yet.”

Peridot turns around. “What?”

At that moment, a sword disrupts her form. It occurs to Peridot before she fully dissipates that her gem weapon is probably recognizable as belonging to Pink Diamond’s Pearl. Even if she barely uses it, the image is probably on file somewhere. Hopefully the Jasper didn’t notice the fusion using it, or maybe she would think Pearls possess similar gem weapons.

When she wakes, it’s to the sound of rushing water and the smell of plants. She narrows her eyes at her surroundings, which consist of spiky vines. It takes her three tries to make her legs hold. She attempts to activate her cannon before remembering that her invention was lost. She has the files backed up which would be accessible from the Prime Kindergarten, but she doubts she can return to Homeworld or get anywhere near the Earth colony. If Jasper escaped, which is likely, she would spread the mistaken belief that Peridot is a Crystal Gem. The notion is laughable. Her, rebel scum? 

Then again, Pearl could’ve shattered her gemstone, but she kept her word - that they supposedly don’t shatter gems. She’s not going to trust this yet. They could just want information. She crawls over to the motionless form of Lapis. Nearby, Pearl is talking in hushed tones to the pink Quartz.

“I don’t think it was wise to unbubble her, Rose. She seems volatile...”

“Did you listen to how they spoke about the planet? The attachment to an organic lifeform? Their friendship which challenges the usual boundaries? I think she could be on our side given the chance. We just have to talk.”

Pearl notices she’s awake and rushes over. Peridot recoils protectively over Lapis. 

“I - I’m nothing without my limb enhancers, b-but I will bite you if I have to!”

Pearl appears grossed out for a second. “Please don’t do that. You’re not- you’re not nothing.”

Peridot strokes the area around Lazuli’s gem, utterly distraught. Pearl approaches with cautious movements, like a human approaching a wounded organic creature.

“Peridot listen, just let us -”

“You don’t understand! She’s my best friend, my whole world. I love her and I don’t know what I’d do without her,” Peridot sobs. 

First her affections for Pearl were a waste, now she’s going to lose the only other gem that was special in her life. That cared about her, looked out for her. She’s never risked speaking this much out loud, not even to Lapis herself. Though society accepts or tolerates closeness between different gems, allowing them to express it is another deal entirely. Even gem courtship is rather tame compared to how those organic sentient beings express themselves. 

Peridot is jealous of how open and emotional humans appear to be for the most part.

Pearl draws down to her knees. 

“Actually…” She glances at Rose Quartz. “I understand that sentiment perfectly.”

“Why should I listen to you? How could you turn on your Diamond? What did she ever do to you - I’ve seen what she lets you get away with! The closeness of your relationship... How could you betray her like this?”

Pearl bites her lip and averts her gaze. “I - it’s more complicated than that.”

“I don’t care.”

Rose finally chimes in, “Peridot, I can heal your friend.”

“H-how…”

“The fountain, it is filled with my healing tears.”

Peridot squints. “Healing? That’s - how many powers do you _have?_ This is absurd.”

Rose’s face loses the open friendliness, and it feels ominous. 

“I wanted your permission to heal them,” she says, her gentle tone not matching her darkened expression. 

Peridot throws her hands up. “Of course you need to heal them, _please!_ They were just protecting me…”

Peridot buries her face in Pumpkin’s fur, the wolf laid right next to Lapis. “I shouldn’t have dragged them into this. We shouldn’t have lingered here with a civil war going on.”

“You showed them kindness, devotion, and trust,” Rose tells her. “True loyalty is hard won through character. Blind loyalty to the Diamonds on the other hand… to a gem’s superiors… it isn’t … it isn’t earned, and it’s often not deserved.”

Peridot sniffles and gripes, “I don’t want to hear about your rebellion propaganda until I see that you can heal my friends and don’t just bubble them when you’re done.”

Rose remains passive and calm in the face of Peridot’s cold, aggrieved anger. She gestures to Pearl. While Rose takes Lapis in her arms, Peridot awkwardly lifts Pumpkin. They climb into the fountain lower the two injured beings into the liquid. Peridot hobbles to the edge of the fountain and fixes her gaze on them. A glow builds around them. 

Pumpkin splashes out of the tub and lands on top of Peridot, paws on her chest. Pumpkin whines happily and licks her face. Peridot laughs, though tears still escape. She buries her fingers in Pumpkin’s thick coat. Then, she hears Lapis groan. Pumpkin yaps with excitement and jumps back into the pool. Peridot follows her example and vaults over the edge. She lands on Lapis, laughing, crying, and hugging her with desperation for closeness.

Once she’s recovered from the emotional outburst, she examines Lazuli’s gem to be certain. It’s in perfect condition. She lays two fingers on it. “Thank the stars you’re going to be alright Zuli.”

Lapis cranes her neck. “What.. what happened?”

“That Jasper cracked your gem. Somehow… it’s been healed by the rebel leader. Healing tears or something. I can’t… deal with all of this right now!” Peridot continues, “What’s going to happen to us? Even if Jasper didn’t escape the destroyed Kindergarten to tell Pink Diamond that we’re rebels, the rebels themselves aren’t going to let us go…”

Lapis embraces her. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out together.”

A significant pause falls over the small group. Lapis questions, “Destroyed? What happened to it? Must have been a massive fight.”

Peridot blushes as she’s reminded. The _fusion_. Not her, not Pearl, someone else, comprised and beyond both of them. She shivers and holds Lapis closer. Experiencing with Lapis, someone with whom she already has a deep bond, it was great. She still doesn’t know how to feel about Pearl, the feelings are mixed due to the recent revelation. At least it wasn’t the first time. That would have been a weird impression to get about fusion.

She takes a deep breath and dares to look at the rebel gems.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Rose softly says, glancing at Pearl. She flushes at the scrutiny and folds her hands.

Pearl confesses, “I - I fused with her. I didn’t really set out to do it, but it seemed to be the fitting solution on hand, and she didn’t resist. I’m sorry Peridot.”

Peridot blinks at her. “Well… you saved my life. I can’t be… _that_ angry. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, just… to put it scientifically... really, really weird.”

Peridot swims over and climbs out of the large tub. Pumpkin tumbles out beside her and shakes the liquid off, spraying the three gems. Pearl exclaims with annoyance and shields herself with her arms. Rose merely smiles at Pumpkin.

“Such an adorable little creature… will probably be beautiful when it grows up.”

Something about her voice feels… 

Peridot falls to her knees as the heavy realization hits her. 

“It’s you… isn’t it… it all adds up… the renegade Pearl… the plans. How dismissive she is of her first colony…”

Rose and Pearl share a concerned look. Pearl reaches for Peridot, then yanks her hand back before it can make contact. Lapis crouches beside her.

“Peridot are you okay? Is your gemstone - it looks fine but -”

Peridot grips Lazuli’s shoulder and uses it to lever herself to stand at full height. It isn’t an impressive height, but she intimidated some of the most respected types of gems in the past despite her puny size.

Her lips twitch. She smirks, then she chuckles. She rubs her face with her exposed hands. Her voice is firm when she says, “You are not quite what I expected m - my Diamond.”

Rose curls her fist over her chest and her eyes widen. 

Pearl scoffs and says, “Whaaat? Perhaps you need a moment in the pool as well -”

“I’m not cracked!” Peridot points at her. “My eyes didn’t deceive me! I am a master of observation, and from my experience I know genuine love when I see it. Unless you’re somehow a self torturing double agent, you can’t possibly love Pink Diamond _and_rebel leader Rose Quartz! Aside from that all the facts are coming together…”

Rose kneels in front of Peridot and takes both of her hands. “I am fighting for this planet’s freedom, I am fighting for the freedom and future of all gems who have the right to be themselves. Some don’t have the luxury of what you get to have with Lapis. Your circumstances - you’re lucky. But think of a Ruby accidentally fusing with a Sapphire. Imagine they were full of innocent love, yet Blue Diamond would have the Ruby broken. You must not tell a _soul_ my true identity. It will ruin everything.”

Lapis snorts. “You’re - you’re rebelling against yourself. That’s - haha - that’s -”

Peridot finishes, “Insane! You’re all a bunch of clods and you’re insane!”

Peridot and Lapis dissolve into giggling fits on the ground. Pumpkin rolls around and kicks the air, trying to join in without fully understanding the situation. Once Peridot has petered herself out, she faces them.

“You know what, maybe I am too.” Peridot’s cheeks are still flushed with a plethora of emotions she couldn’t begin to unpack. “Anyone would be, thrown into this predicament with you. Thank you for healing my friends… uhh….”

“Rose Quartz. Once this is over… That’s all I plan to be here on this planet.”

“Thank you, Rose Quartz.” Peridot focuses on Pearl. “You!”

“Me?”

“You’ve made me a criminal! Don’t you know the punishment for fusing with a different type of gem? How could I ever face anyone from Homeworld again after fusing with Pink Diamond’s fancy little Pearl?”

“You fused with me,” Lapis mutters in her ear.

“That’s different!”

“Yeah Peri, you don’t want to polish my -”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Zuli.”

Pearl closes in on herself, taken aback. “I - they’ll only know if the Jasper… hey, who are you calling little, you tiny twerp! I’ll have you know that I -”

Before Pearl can finish that thought, Peridot climbs on top of Pumpkin, climbing astride the highest point of her back for additional height, and she unceremoniously brushes her lips against Pearl’s. It’s a quick thing, meant to leave room for rejection. Pearl slots Peridot against her when Pumpkin moves and returns the gesture with her own firmer press. 

Lapis gasps with delight, “Whoa Peridot!”

“Oh my stars,” Rose says. “How sweet.”

“What are you doing,” Pearl murmurs when they part.

Peridot offers, “Organic courtship?”

Pearl smiles and lowers her to the ground. “My being rebel scum doesn’t put you off?”

“I didn’t think it was possible to be _this_ in love, but here we are.” Peridot performs a mocking salute to Rose and jokingly declares, “Am I, Peridot - breaker of sacred rules, best friend of a Lazuli, and lover of your Pearl - permitted to rebel with the rest of you clods, My Diamond?”

Pearl stutters, “Come ag - you’re my _what_ now -”

Rose smirks and wraps her arms around them. “Permission granted. Welcome to the Crystal Gems. Can’t wait for you to meet everyone.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wish fusions for Lapis & Peridot + Pearl & Peridot would be canonized. I spent so long researching them, and I still can't decide which seems more fitting. I have Pearlidot fusions in two more yet to be posted fics, and all three instances have different names :shrug: it's impossible to be certain what they would choose.


End file.
